HKA, a risk and disputes consulting firm, has hired Vanessa Varona as a partner in its forensic accounting and investigations practice, Thomas Moreno as a director in its forensic engineering expert services practice, and Deviprasad Pentapati as a director in its construction, claims, and expert services practice.
Based in Miami, Vanessa Varona brings more than 15 years of experience leading forensic, due diligence, and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act investigations; conducting risk assessments; and delivering dispute resolutions services.
She has advised clients in a wide range of industries, including power and utilities, construction, telecom, and healthcare and life sciences.
Varona joins HKA from EY, where she spent 15 years and was a managing director in the forensic and integrity services practice.
She has an MBA from Florida International University and a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Miami.
“We are excited to welcome Vanessa Varona to HKA. Her deep expertise in forensic investigations and dispute resolution significantly strengthens our capabilities and enhances the value we deliver to clients,” said Tim Hart, partner.
Based in San Francisco, Thomas Moreno has nearly 30 years of construction industry experience, with expertise analyzing construction defects to identify structure problems, estimating the cost of repairs, and evaluating construction defect loss.
He has worked on commercial, residential, and industrial construction projects across the US and testified as an expert witness in numerous depositions and trials.
Moreno also has experience in project management, supervising construction crews, preparing procurement bid packages, and providing cost estimates.
He was previously principal building consultant at Charles Taylor, an expert construction consultant at Horizon Consulting, and a construction consultant at Peter Fowler Construction Services.
Moreno has a bachelor’s degree in construction management from California State University and is a certified construction inspector.
“Thomas brings an exceptional blend of hands-on construction experience and deep forensic expertise that strengthens our ability to serve clients facing complex technical challenges,” said Mike Griffin, partner, head of forensic technical services, Americas.
Based in Houston, Deviprasad Pentapati is a civil engineer with over 20 years of experience across construction advisory, dispute resolution, data analytics, project controls, and technology enablement and implementation.
He has expertise in delay and disruption analysis and has provided expert services on numerous complex projects in infrastructure, transportation, and energy.
Pentapati joins from FTI Consulting, where he was a senior director. Before that, he was a director at Socotec USA, a project manager at Johnson, Mirmiran & Thompson, and a project controls manager at Arcadis.
Pentapati has a master’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Kentucky and a bachelor’s degree from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University in India. He is also a professional engineer in California and Texas, a project management professional, certified construction manager, and risk management professional.
“We are thrilled to welcome Devi to HKA. His extensive experience in forensic schedule analysis, cost and resource-loaded CPM scheduling, and dispute resolution across complex infrastructure and vertical construction projects will be a tremendous asset to our clients,” said Scott Hollingsworth, partner, joint construction, claims and expert services lead, USA.
Headquartered in London, HKA has more than 1,000 professionals globally delivering services in risk mitigation, dispute resolution, expert witness, and litigation support. The firm focuses on the construction and energy industries.
Sourced from Consulting-us